Empty Apartment
by Failure Turtle
Summary: Love comes and goes, but family is forever. CM PunkxOC
1. Chapter 1

**A/N: This whole fic is based on "Empty Apartment" by Yellowcard. I've heard that I write Punk "well," and I enjoy writing him. Erm…that's about it. Oh, each chapter will start off with a section of lyrics from that song.**

_Call me out  
You stayed inside  
One you love is where you hide  
Shot me down as I flew by  
Crash and burn  
I think sometimes  
You forget where the heart is_

_Punk's POV_

Home is where the heart is, right?

That's what I thought, at least.

I love my parents, I really do. They're the only reason I go back to my hometown every now and then. I mean, I like Chicago, but that city has some bad stuff that I don't like to associate myself with. That's why I moved out of the city and into a small suburb.

Like I said, I love my parents. But they're the reason that I'm standing alone in this empty apartment.

It breaks my heart, really. Well, my heart was already broken, but being here alone really takes the cake.

About a week ago, I went home to visit my family. I didn't bring my girlfriend, Kylie, along. Honestly, my parents creep her out. I don't blame them; my parents are quite the eclectic crew. Where do you think I get all of it from?

I sat across from my father in the dining room. My mother was busying herself in the kitchen, fixing lasagna for dinner. It's strange how being on the road all the time has made me realize that I've been taking my mother's cooking for granted my whole life.

My father had that stern look on his face like I had done something wrong. So, I asked him, "Dad, what's up? Did I do something to upset you?"

"Son, your whole choice of career has upset me," he sighed, clasping his aging hands together.

"But you got over that, didn't you?"

"Well, yeah, I have. Son, I'm really proud of you, and I want you to be happy. I really do. I know that this whole wrestling career path is what you want and what you desire, but you're not sitting across from me right now so I can berate your choice of profession."

"What is it this time? My healthy diet?" I asked as a joke. My father damn well knew that I only drank Pepsi and only ate Taco Bell.

"No, it's your girlfriend. Where is she?" my dad asked without a hint of sincere curiosity in his voice.

I already knew that this was going to be bad.

"She had other things to do today," I said. It was true. Just because I don't have a life doesn't mean my girlfriend can't, if that makes any sense.

"She couldn't put them aside to come visit her potential in-laws?"

Ouch, that stung. My mother poked her head into the room, smiling warmly at me. They wanted me to get married, but I don't know if marriage is quite for me. Isn't love enough?

I didn't have an answer for my father.

"Well, son?"

"Dad, I—"

"No, Phil, I'm not done."

I shut my mouth.

"We, well, _I_ don't think that Kylie is really the girl for you. Don't you think you need someone a bit more…Oh, I don't know…relaxed?"

"What do you mean, relaxed? Kylie is just fine!" I was starting to get angry at my dad. I know I shouldn't be, but this had to be going somewhere.

"Son, I'm just stating my opinion. And I think that maybe you should end things with her."

"Dad, I am not just going to break up with the girl because you want me to."

"Phil, I raised you to obey me. Just because you think you're some big, strong wrestler doesn't mean that you don't have to answer to me anymore. Trust me, you're still not too big and strong for me to bend over my knee."

Old-fashioned, much?

"Dad, I can't—"

"You can, and you will. Son, believe me. She's not right for you."


	2. Chapter 2

_Answer no to these questions  
Let her go  
Learn a lesson  
It's not me  
You're not listening  
Now can't you see something's missing  
You forget where the heart is_

"I'm not going to break up with her just because you don't think she's right for me," I said. Hell, I almost snapped it. I never snap, especially not at my father.

"Don't you use that tone of voice with me, boy," my dad growled at me. I've never seen him this angry, not even that one time when I crashed his car and totaled it…when I was twelve.

"Honey, aren't you being a little over the top?" my mom asked, coming into the room again and giving a warning glance to my dad.

"She's right, you know," I agreed. Oops, probably shouldn't have said that.

My dad slammed his fists on the kitchen table, causing my mother and I to jump in shock. He slammed them so hard that the nice china my mother had put on the table shook violently with the impact. "And now you're talking back to me, boy? Ooh, I wish I never paid for those Muay Thai classes…"

"Dad, I'm not breaking up with her, and I'm not moving out of our apartment. It's as simple as that. You can't make me, either." I can't believe I even dared to say that last part.

"Want to bet?"

"You can't do this to him," my mother sighed to my father. She was always the voice of reason in the house. I guess that made my parents a nice balance. My dad was the crazed, power hungry guy and my mother was the nice, sensitive woman. Stereotypical, much?

I always vowed to never be like him.

"I sure as hell can do this to him," my father grumbled back at her. I wanted to slap him for being so rude to my mother, especially since she was on my side of the issue, but I thought against it. I thought I might lose an entire arm if I tried. "And you know what? I _will_ do this to him. Phil, I want her out of that apartment. And if she won't leave, I want you to move back here."

I let out a massive groan at his last statement that actually sounded more like a shriek that a sixteen year old girl lets out when her parents ground her for the weekend of homecoming, and she has a date with the captain of the football team, not that I'd know what that feels like. Of course, I had multiple problems with it. First off, he called me "Phil." He damn well knows that I hate that name. But it was _his_ idea to name me that, so maybe that's why I hate it so much. He can't make her move out. If she wants to move out, then I'm shit out of luck. But he can't make me move out, either. And he wants me to move back home?

Oh hell no.

"She's not going anywhere, dad. And neither am I." I tried to make my decision sound as final as possible, not that he'd listen to me, anyways.

"I didn't want to resort to this son," my dad sighed, his anger ebbing away. "There's a reason that I want you to come home."

"Honey…" my mom said. She stepped farther into the room. "We said we weren't going to tell him…"

"Oh, now you guys are keeping secrets from me? Great, I see how much you guys love your son," I said, rolling my eyes.

My dad looked down at the table and then looked back up at me. I've never seen that look in his eyes before, and I couldn't quite put my finger on what emotion it was supposed to be. He took a deep breath before completely shattering my world even more.

"Phil, I'm dying."


	3. Chapter 3

**A/N: OMG KYLIE KRUNK HOW I HAVE MISSED YOUUUUUUU!**

_Take you away from that empty apartment  
You stay, and forget where the heart is  
Someday if ever you loved me you'd say, "It's okay"  
Waking up from this nightmare  
How's your life? What's it like there?  
Is it all what you want it to be?  
Does it hurt when you think about me?  
And how broken my heart is_

I didn't know what to say. What _do_ you say after your father tells you that he's dying?

I took the enraged route. If he was going to be angry with me, I was going to fight anger with anger.

"You cannot just tell me that you're dying to make me move home! That is a bullshit excuse, _Father_," I seethed.

"Phil…Honey, he's not lying," my mother said in her sweetest voice. She was the one woman I was sure would never, ever lie to me. How could I not believe her?

"Mom…" I sighed, burying my head in my hands. "How long…Why?"

"Lung cancer," my dad answered. "All the cigarettes have gotten to me, finally."

Ah, his smoking habit, yet one of the many reasons I have chosen a straight-edge lifestyle.

"And when were you actually _planning_ on telling me? At the funeral?" I couldn't help but to say something ridiculous like that. I was angry. I needed Kylie here.

"Don't talk back to me!" my dad screamed.

"Honey, settle down…Don't want to get your blood pressure up any higher," my mom said, rushing to my dad's side and rubbing his shoulders in an attempt to calm him down.

"Phil, just please, do me this favor. My dying wish is that you break up with her and move back home. And if you could come home for good…That would be great."

Give up my job, my girlfriend, and my home because my father is dying? I love my father, but I don't know if I can do that. I've worked so hard for everything that I currently have. Everyone dies in the end. It's a lesson I had to learn early. I know that at one point in my life, I will be without my parents, either one of them or both of them. Moving back home isn't going to save his life. Giving up my life won't let him keep his.

"I'm sorry, dad, but I can't."

"You can't do this for me?" he asked with a glare. "Your father is dying right before your eyes, and you won't come home to take care of him?"

"I have too much going on, dad. I'm a professional wrestler. I travel all across the world for my job. I can't give that up. It's what I was born to do."

"No, it's not. Do you know what children are born to do? They are born to take care of their parents when they get old!"

"And parents are supposed to support the decisions of their children!"

I could already tell that this wasn't going anywhere. I was usually a laid back guy, but when I wanted to defend myself, I would. I was stubborn like that, a trait I must have gotten from my father. Can't you tell?

"Fine then. If you don't want to do this for me, then I don't want to see you for the rest of my life."


End file.
